Boat trailers skids v rollers
Submitted by paul d on Sun, 2017-05-14 10:53
hey guys just after people's opinions on the pros and cons of skid type trailers. Looking at a new trailer for my 5.9m seafarer , but always had wobble rollers on my trailers. Do skid type trailers make launch and retrieve harder ? Any advise would be great. Cheers paul. U
Gav475
Posts: 397
Date Joined: 16/11/11
Bunk
Had both. skid or bunk every day of the week. Heaps easier . Float off drive on solo easy as with a 22 ft glass boat
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
As long as you have a deep
As long as you have a deep ramp. dont try it on the beach haha. learnt that the hard way !
Krusty
Posts: 714
Date Joined: 27/11/15
My previous boat first had
My previous boat first had full rollers on the trailer.
Then after a trailer refurbish I put on the skid type and it actually came off the trailer easier than it did with the rollers for some reason.
Also retrieving the boat back on again was also noticeably easier.
My boat however was an ali boat so not sure if a glass boat would give the same results or not.
My fishing spots are so secret........... even the fish don't know where they are !!
ace rimmer
Posts: 187
Date Joined: 19/08/13
full roller
full roller with no keel rollers
self centres itself and boat will just roll off without having to submerge the trailer
just like it would have come from the factory and what seafarer recommend
cheers Ace
squidvicious1
Posts: 824
Date Joined: 22/07/10
MY dunbier trailer is all
MY dunbier trailer is all rollers,drive on and easy pushing it off.plus you don't have to put it right in the drink.
sunshine
Posts: 2611
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Teflon skids......brilliant
Self centres, easy to launch and retrieve solo despite being 6.8 and can drive on and off if the ramp or club permits it with absolute ease ! Also means the boat sits slightly lower on the trailer making it more stable towing
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
Good and bad i feel! On my
Good and bad i feel!
On my trophy i had to carpet bunks which was a nightmare, installed the special approved skids and it was better still not the greatest but was probably down to the trailer design. A spray of silicone spray here and there helped.
I now have a 7.5m Ali boat with full skids and it is great drive on drive off or winch whatever you want. Still takes a bit more force than rollers would but hardly any maintenance and much easier to drive on. Its also better to tow if you ask me low down and doesnt move around at all. Have got it on and off at the beach!
I would think skids on the sides and keel rollers might be good too and less effort to get on and off!
Nelly
Posts: 518
Date Joined: 04/05/08
Keel rollers and side skids
Keel rollers and side skids best of both worlds.I have a custom coraline trailer set up like this.Self centre even if the breesze catchs it and comes on at 45%.Makes launching and retrive a absolute breeze.Sit really low on trailer which tows great (20mm clearance between chine and mudguard).
jng
Posts: 488
Date Joined: 03/08/07
I've got keel rollers and
I've got keel rollers and skids on the side on my 7.5m ally. Works great launching and retrieving solo. Also works very well with drive on and drive off
tiimmbo
Posts: 695
Date Joined: 16/08/09
What do people use for their
What do people use for their skids? I have carpet over timber but have been thinking about going for the Teflon type skid just not sure what to use.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
Carpet over timber is sticky
Cheap n nasty way of doing it, beloved of DIY'ers doing it on the cheap The blue strip stuff it available in different configurations from Martins or any other trailer place--you can get it in the thinner strips for attaching to steel/ali backing or in solid bars for mounting by itself. As others have said, it can be very good on ali huls, very low drag, and almost zero maintenance. Haven't used it myself on glass--it "could" be a problem if you tow on really bad roads, wouldn't be an issue if you stick to the bitumen. My own trtailer is the fully rollered tilt cradle type, can't beat it for ease of launching--just let go the little bit of rope holding it in the jam cleat, and it's off and away.
Comrad
Posts: 109
Date Joined: 17/07/14
I defintely prefer the blue
I defintely prefer the blue skids that I have on the trailer for my aluminium boat (with keel rollers), just seems much simpler to me, and I've never had any issues with it. Also, I was always under the impression that for the rollers or skids, the blue stuff was a bit harder, and better suited to aluminium hulls, and the red stuff was a bit softer, and suited to fibreglass hulls? Might be an urban legend, but that's what I'd always believed.
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is about the load distribution of weight on skids vs rollers. I was having work done at a chandlers, and he mentioned a pitfall of rollers which I hadn't considered - shock point loading. He said that he'd seen a few instances of hulls - particularly glass hulls (thought, ally as well) having been cracked, dented, and even perforated by side rollers, particularly if the rollers aren't 100% tailored for the boat they're on, and one roller is carrying more load than the others. Apparently the worst culprit for this are bumpy or corrugated roads, particularly if you tie your boat down to the trailer with a ratchet strap or similar. There have been occasions where a roller will just punch straight through the bottom of your boat - a pretty quick way to ruin a remote fishing trip...
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
I've seen that happen.
Rollers on a pressed ali hull punch straight through, on the Ningaloo track. I had side skids on mine, (pressed ali) and keel rollers. The weight should be on the keel, with that kind of arrangement, and "just" on the side skids, so there is no lateral rock but not a lot of stress. I really wouldn't use wobble rollers on anything but glass or heavy plate ali. With reference to roller material, it isn't an urban myth, the blue is harder and better suited to keel rollers on ali boats, particularly the type with an extruded or box-section keel. The red material is softer, better for glass boats with no sharp corners.. The cheapest of all are rubber--I've seen people put them under an ali boat, because they were cheap, then whinge when the keel chews them out quickly.